The underground caverns branched out in every direction.
The farther they went, the more forks they encountered, while the helmet lights illuminated less and less.
By the end, it was practically a maze. Once the group had scattered and wandered around inside, there was no hope of escape left—only despair.
Juno walked in front with an ice axe and gun. In her words—
This was all her fault. Li Dan only needed to cover her from behind; there was no need for him to risk himself out front.
Juno failed to notice several Wendigos silently crawling across the ceiling above her. They were now Li Dan's most loyal underlings and would eliminate every threat for him.
Li Dan noticed something interesting along the way.
Even though those six Wendigos had become his contained entities, the others in these caves still regarded them as their own kind.
Was it because of their intelligence?
From Li Dan's perspective, his six underlings encountered another Wendigo in the cave.
Neither side attacked.
The Wendigo made sounds as though it wanted to communicate, but the six underlings did not move an inch.
Not until Li Dan gave an order.
While that Wendigo was still confused, the six companions surrounding him in his eyes suddenly went mad, pinning him down and pouncing on him to bite and tear.
Hearing the commotion, Juno looked up and saw a corpse rapidly growing larger in her vision. She rolled aside.
Bang.
The corpse slammed into the ground, spraying pitch-black blood everywhere.
When Juno looked up again, the monsters had already scattered in all directions. Staring at the mangled body on the ground, she asked in confusion,
"Why are they killing each other?"
Li Dan casually came up with an excuse.
"Maybe they're hungry. Or maybe there isn't enough food?"
The matter of contained entities was best kept secret if possible. Mainly because Deformed Persons and Wendigos had physical bodies. If they had been evil ghosts or Vengeful Spirits, there would have been no need to worry about this.
Juno obviously did not believe him. If they ate their own kind, there would not be so many pack-dwelling monsters. Yet she could not refute him either. Maybe they really were hungry?
It could only be considered a minor incident along the way.
The two of them encountered no danger on the road. More accurately, all danger had been dealt with by those six Wendigos beforehand.
Halfway through.
At a fork in one of the caves.
Juno picked up a bracelet. She remembered clearly that it was the one Sarah wore.
"Sarah is in danger. I have to save her."
Juno became agitated and immediately ran off in one direction.
Li Dan paused at the fork, hesitated for a moment, then hurriedly called his underlings to follow before chasing after Juno.
The six crawling Wendigos turned in unison, rapidly scuttling after Li Dan's position.
From God's-eye view, the scene would have been horrifying.
"Sarah!"
"Beth!"
"Sam!"
Li Dan could hear Juno's booming voice from far away. She really was not afraid of dying.
Still, that was fine. Juno could draw attention from the front while he preserved their fighting strength as much as possible.
On the other side of the cave.
Up on a rocky ledge, Rebecca and Beth huddled together without daring to make a sound, because there was a monster right in front of them.
Fortunately, these monsters seemed to have lost their sight after living underground for so long, relying only on their ears and hearing to locate prey.
Juno's shouts drifted over from afar and drew the monster's attention.
The monster quickly crawled toward the sound.
Rebecca and Beth had no intention of warning Juno.
At a time like this, they were already facing disaster themselves. Friends and best friends alike became lighter than a feather.
After the monster left.
Rebecca and Beth immediately climbed up and headed away in the opposite direction, with no intention of going back to save Juno.
Juno's yelling was useful after all. It really did attract the nearby monsters.
Most were torn apart by Li Dan's Wendigos, and the few remaining posed no threat.
After dispatching the monsters with an ice axe and a few shots, Juno knelt beside the corpse before her. It was Sam's... Her neck had been bitten open, and she had been dead for a long time.
After grieving, she once again set out to find Sarah and the others. She glanced behind her. Li Dan still had not caught up. Had he run away?
It was normal to be afraid...
Juno pulled her ice axe from the monster's chest and continued onward.
Little did she know that Li Dan was no longer human!
To better blend into the darkness, he chose to fuse with the Wendigo card, becoming a monster that crawled on powerful limbs. Along with his five underlings, he climbed across the cave ceiling, following Juno the entire way.
It had to be said that although becoming a Wendigo was hard to accept, it gave him a sense of security he had never possessed as a human.
Perhaps Wendigos had already adapted to life underground.
As someone transforming into a monster for the first time, Li Dan was rather excited. He tested his new abilities, climbing all over the caverns without worrying about crashing into walls.
His vision, enhanced abilities, and strength remained intact. They had not vanished just because he had become a Wendigo.
That was very good.
Li Dan even singled out a lone Wendigo, only to discover that it was no match for him. He easily snapped its neck.
It seemed Fusion meant that Li Dan's own strength and abilities were layered together with those of the Wendigo.
What a pity.
He could only fuse one card. If he could fuse them all and layer on a Deformed Person as well, perhaps he could wrestle with that Wendigo formed from the evil spirit.
After fully adapting.
Li Dan began rapidly crawling in Juno's direction.
Somewhere in a cave nest.
Sarah suddenly woke up. She turned on the headlamp above her and surveyed the surroundings, her heart leaping into her throat.
There were not only grim white bones here, but also a pool formed from gathered blood.
Before Sarah could rise, a young Wendigo suddenly pounced on her from behind, grabbed her hair, and began tearing at it.
The searing pain in her scalp made Sarah struggle wildly. She grabbed the little monster's head with both hands and smashed it viciously against the ground, then casually picked up a bone and started beating it to death.
Just as Sarah was getting into it, a dull gunshot sounded behind her.
Sarah turned around and saw another monster lying behind her. It seemed to be the little monster's mother.
Beth had fired the gun, and her hands were trembling slightly.
Sarah excitedly rushed forward and hugged Rebecca and Beth. The three reunited in the cave and quietly spoke of their relief at surviving the ordeal.
Just as they were discussing how to leave this place.
A massive shadow blocked the exit.
When Sarah, Beth, and Rebecca saw the monster blocking the cave entrance, despair filled their hearts.
Unlike the other monsters, which were blind and could only rely on their sense of smell, this monster's blood-red eyes stared fixedly at the three women in the cave.
Whenever they moved even slightly, its pupils followed by the same amount.
It could clearly see.
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